Friday, August 23, 2013

Government approved for the constitution of Judicial Appointments Commission

According to the Constitution under Article 124 the appointment of Supreme Court judges should be made by the President after consultation with such judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court as the President may deem necessary. The CJI is to be consulted in all appointments, except his or her own. Further, Article 217 deals with the appointment of High Court judges. It says a judge should be appointed by the President after consultation with the CJI and the Governor of the state. The Chief Justice of the High Court concerned too should be consulted. But with passage of time amendments were introduced to make passage for collegiums system.

Collegium is a system under which appointments and transfers of judges are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. 

Thus to reduce the sole authority of judiciary in selection of the judges, the Union Cabinet has cleared the Bill for setting up of a Judicial Appointment Commission (JAC) that would scrap the present collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. 

It would give the executive a say in the appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges. As per the proposal, the JAC will be headed by the Chief Justice of India. It will have two Supreme Court judges, the Law Minister and two eminent personalities as its members and the Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry would be the Member Secretary. The body will recommend appointment and posting of apex court and HC judges. The two eminent persons on the JAC will be selected by a panel comprising the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition of either House of Parliament.

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